Six years, 500 million euros, 918 meters long.......now this is engineering!
This is a channel-bridge over the river Elbe and joins the former East and West Germany, as part of the unification project. It is located in the city of Magdeburg, near Berlin.
It is the world's largest water bridge (or canal bridge). Completed in December 2003, the bridge is 918 meters long and has been modestly described as 'a giant, kilometer-long concrete bathtub.'
The Tropical Islands Resort is an artificial tropical resort in Brandenburg, Germany.
The Tropical Islands Resort is an artificial exotic island environment that is said to be the world's largest indoor tropical structure, which can accommodate up to 8,000 visitors a day. It is also the world's largest indoor water park at 66,000 square meters. What makes the Tropical Island Dome even more remarkable is that it doubles as a miniature ecosystem. About 80% of the resort's 66,000 square meters of floor space is used for ‘green space', which includes more than 500 species of plants; including palm trees, orchids, carnivorous plants, banana trees, coffee bushes, jungle creepers and other exotic rain forest vegetation. Pool water is reclaimed to water the plant life, which grows in 30,000 cubic meters of custom-made soil. Due to the enormous amount of open space, the vegetation is allowed to grow without restriction in the hopes of creating a true indoor rain forest canopy.
Transparent panels allow natural sunlight through which gives light to the interior during the day. The panels are also UV absorbent that expose the plants to natural sunlight and allowing the dome to operate as a giant greenhouse. The internal temperature is kept at a comfortable humidity year-round, regardless of the weather outdoor. It is stated that the interior's high humidity causes water condensation on the inside of the dome, which collects for some time before finally forming drops. This produces light spontaneous rain showers on occasion that adds to the ambiance.
A small hot air balloon is also available to take two people up to 60 meters high inside the dome. Other attractions includes; a large beach, a lagoon with waterfalls, a whirlpool and a camping ground.
It cost about 12.8 million euros to construct. The acrylic glass cylinder was constructed by the U.S. company Reynolds Polymer Technology. The outside cylinder was manufactured on-site from four pieces and the inside cylinder for the elevator was delivered in one piece.
The Aquadom is the largest acrylic glass cylinder in the world, with a diameter of over 11 meters, built on a 9 meters tall concrete foundation. Filled with about 900,000 liters of seawater, it contains some 2600 fish of 56 species. The feeding of the fish and the cleaning of the fish tank is performed daily by a pair of full-time divers.
